Format War Over - Toshiba Drops HD DVD

It's official. Toshiba is discontinuing its HD DVD format.

Source: http://www.toshiba.co.jp/about/press/2008_02/pr1903.htm

Universal HD DVD Exclusivity Deal Expired

In what seems like another falling domino for the HD DVD camp, it is being reported that Universal is no longer obligated to support HD DVD exclusively. This following the news that Paramount has a clause in its contract to allow themselves to switch sides if others like Warner were to go Blu.

Source: http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117978760.html?categoryid=20&cs=1

Update: Universal has denied the rumors of a possibility in dropping HD DVD support in favor of Blu-ray. They also go on to reaffirm their support in the HD DVD format. Although like the Paramount situation, they haven't exactly denied the reports of their HD DVD exclusivity contract ending.

http://www.betanews.com/article/Universal_Were_staying_with_HD_DVD/1199974983

Rumor: Paramount Dropping HD DVD in Favor of Blu-ray?

The Financial Times is reporting that Paramount/Dreamworks has a contract clause allowing them to back out of their HD DVD exclusivity deal. An apparent move brought upon by Warner's announcement to release only on Blu-ray starting June 1 of this year. Should this decision be made it would surely hasten the demise of HD DVD as a viable media format as a whole.

Source: http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/dc409afa-bd75-11dc-b7e6-0000779fd2ac.html?nclick_check=1

On August 20, 2007, Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures and DreamWorks Animation, announced they would no longer be supporting the Blu-ray Disc format. Citing HD DVD's lower consumer equipment and disc replication costs (due to its similarities to the standard DVD format), all future Paramount/Dreamworks titles will be released exclusively on HD DVD.

Update: Paramount is denying the reports of a switch. Although this doesn't go against the rumor of whether or not they have a clause in their contract to switch back to supporting Blu-ray.

Funai Releasing Sub-$300 Blu-ray Player

Budget brand Funai has revealed its plans to release their first Blu-ray player to market. Not many tech details available save for the fact that the player supports Profile 1.1. Its worth mentioning that the player will be released under Funai's Sylvania brand rather than Funai itself.

Source: http://funai.us/bluRayDiscFunai.aspx

Sony BDU-X10S Internal Blu-ray Drive

CES continues with new Blu-ray product launches this time in the form of a $200 PC drive by Sony. The drive will not feature any burning capabilities built-in (BD nor DVD) but is instead meant to complement an existing DVD burner. The drive will feature a SATA interface and the standard 5.25-inch form-factor. The drive is scheduled to ship later this month and is now available on Amazon for pre-order (http://www.amazon.com/Sony-BDUX10S-Blu-ray-Disc-ROM-Internal/dp/B000YJ2QC2).


Source: http://news.sel.sony.com/en/press_room/consumer/computer_peripheral/dvd_cd_burners/release/32521.html

Philips BDP7200 Blu-ray Player Announced

Philips joins the roster of companies announcing new Blu-ray players at CES. This one is pretty standard with mandatory Profile 1.1 support. Not much info on advanced audio codec support yet - if any.

The player is to be available in April for $349.

Source: http://www.ces.philips.com/press_release_bluray.html

Samsung Announces New Blu-ray/HD DVD Combo Player

Samsung has revealed the BD-UP5500 Blu-ray/HD DVD player combo player at CES - despite the apparent upcoming demise of the HD DVD format that some are proclaiming. Standard Blu-ray Profile 1.1 compliance and full BD-Java and HDi support are featured. Release date is expected to be sometime in the second-half of 2008.

Source: http://www.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20080106005088&newsLang=en


Update: The player is to carry an MSRP of $599 - not bad for a combo player.